South Korea's import prices dropped for the first time in eight months in August as crude oil prices fell.

According to the Bank of Korea on Friday, the import price index came to 89-point-40 in local currency terms, down point-two percent from the prior month.

It marked the first monthly decline since December last year, when it dropped point-seven percent. 

The central bank attributed the decrease to a downturn in international crude prices and a stronger won. Prices of Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, dropped point-nine percent on-month to 72-point-49 dollars per barrel in August.

The export price index in local currency terms also lost one tenth of a percent on-month to reach 87-point-61 due largely to the won's strength against the U.S. dollar.